Melee in 2009: Year in Review

Editor’s Note:

The following article was written by Juggleguy and has been re-published as a mirror copy on the Melee It On Me website. You can find the article in its original entirety here on Smashboards.

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Melee in 2009: Year in Review
The second annual Smash tournament industry report

Previous Editions
[2007]
[2008] (none)

Overview of 2009

After years of being carried by MLG at the national level and following an entire 2008 muddled in the shadows of Brawl, there were many questions regarding the Melee community. Could it make a legitimate strong comeback in the wake of a severe drop-off in tourney attendance? Did the metagame have any more improvement left in it? Was there even any incentive for new players to get better? Looking back at the exciting year that was 2009, it’s safe to say the answer to all three of these questions was a definite and resounding yes.

Melee came back strong in 2009, with a number of old faces and new talent leading the rejuvenation of the tourney scene. The year kicked off with a bang as Tipped Off 4 garnered over 70 participants, including veteran Darkrain who proved he still had the Midwest magic in him. His first place finishes at TO4 and SMYM 9 is of the strongest back-to-back showings ever by a player not named Mango, Mew2King, Azen, or Ken. As tourney attendance across the country piled up, the realization that Melee was still one of the best fighting games out there compelled TO’s to step their game up and revive the competitive scene.

Darkrain (left) closing out a victory on his way to winning Tipped Off 4

If one were to pinpont the greatest milestone in Melee’s comeback, it might have to be Revival of Melee. The tourney, which boasted several top out-of-state players such as Mango and Zhu, also brought back east coast veterans such as PC Chris, Cort, and KoreanDJ. Many saw RoM’s 136 participant turnout as validation of the Melee community’s perseverance; the hype from Nanuet, NY burned into the summer, sparking more local and regional events across the East Coast and acting as a catalyst for the electrifying season of Melee ahead.

Mango Juice was West Coast’s answer to Revival of Melee. Coming less than 3 weeks after the conclusion of RoM, the 128 participants that gathered in SoCal for NCT6 made it the biggest Pacific Melee regional since the pre-Brawl UCLA series. The tourney, hosted by Mango, Nealdt, and Champ, brought in players from as far east as Arizona and as far north as Washington in a culmination of West Coast’s very own revival that had been jumpstarted with the famous ‘Wombo Combo,’ among other events, in late 2008.

Summer was the Genesis hype machine. Local and even regional tournaments were put on hold as players across the country and world anticipated an instant classic in California. DBR’s event undoubtedly lived up to the hype, attracting over 290 participants for its Melee singles event; officially the largest in-person turnout in Melee history. Perhaps most impressive was the number of players from overseas who made the trip. Genesis was easily the most international event since OC3. Indeed, Armada was the story of the tournament, making a deep run through the bracket all the way to Grand Finals. The Swede’s efforts in taking Mango to the brink of elimination brought about a national sense of pride in every Melee players hearts — chants of ‘USA!’ could be heard throughout the 500-person venue. And if Mango had anything left to prove after RoM, his exhilarating victory at Genesis solidified his place among the all-time Melee greats in the minds of the Smash community.

(left) The line outside the venue on Day 1 of Genesis … and (right) the crowd watching Grand Finals, Mango vs. Armada, on the big screen

SMYM 10 was an admirable follow-up to Genesis with regards to tournament attendance and prestige. The 124 participants who showed up in Champaign, Illinois made it the largest underground Melee tournament the Midwest had seen since the days of the Melee-FC series. SMYM 10 marked the first national event for the Midwest in years, attracting Mango and Mew2King, who didn’t disappoint on their way to clashing in Grand Finals.

With November came another pair of strong regional tournaments held by West Coast and East Coast. Pat’s House took place in San Diego, California, where we saw a repeat of the top three from NCT6. The 111 participants who made the trip to SoCal were once again no match for Mango, whose latest notch in a reign of dominance dating back to Pound 3 had many wondering when, or even if his string of national victories would ever end.

The answer came far sooner than anyone could have expected.

Revival of Melee II was the thrilling sequel to the original RoM – the de facto kickoff to Melee’s 2009 comeback. 159 participants entered looking to do damage, but it was Canada’s finest that stole the show, as Kage sent Mango home early through a pair of shocking victories in both winners and losers bracket. He became the first player in over two years to outright eliminate Mango, whose 4th-place finish was his worst since placing 7th at EVO West in 2007. With the conclusion of RoM II, Mango’s run of national victories came to a halt, but the hype for the national Melee scene rose to new heights.

(left) The crowd gathering to watch a match at Pat’s House … and (right) Revival of Melee II getting underway

The month of November ended on a melancholy note when Ryan ‘NES n00b’ Roberts, known to the Melee community as one of the top Falcon players, was fatally killed in a car crash during Thanksgiving weekend in Mississippi. TO’s across the South and Midwest immediately dedicated events to his memory, and proceeds from several of these were directed to Roberts’ family.

Melee continued its strong run until the very end of the calendar year. The explosive weekend of December 18th-20th was home to two big regional events held across the country, including Winterfest, which attracted 63 participants to conclude the year for the South. And fittingly, R³ in San Francisco was officially the last hurrah of a tremendous 2009 in Melee arguably sparked by members of the NorCal community just one year ago.

25 Noteworthy Melee Tournaments from 2009

This list is based on popularity and importance as determined by number of participants (Genesis), prize money (ActiveGamers: C2C), and prestige (Revival of Melee).

BOCT (54 participants)
Vernon, Connecticut – January 3rd-4th
1: Mew2King ($330)
2: Darc ($165)
3: Jman ($55)
4: Scar
5: HBK
5: Vanz
7: Reno
7: Skler

Tipped Off 4 (73 participants)
Duluth, Georgia – January 17th-18th
1: Darkrain ($657)
2: Hungrybox ($328)
3: Colbol ($109)
4: Dr. PeePee
5: L0zR
5: Lambchops
7: Tope
7: Chaddd

SMYM 9 (112 participants)
Champaign, Illinois – February 7th
1: Darkrain ($672)
2: Matt R ($336)
3: Dope ($112)
4: Watty ($20)
5: Eddie
5: Souroush
7: Cosmo
7: Viperboy
9: Kels
9: Sliq
9: dmac
9: ihavespaceballs

Revival of Melee (136 participants)
Nanuet, New York – March 7th-8th
1: Mango ($675)
2: Mew2King ($337)
3: DaShizWiz ($202)
4: PC Chris ($67)
5: ChuDat ($33)
5: Kage ($33)
7: Hungrybox
7: Azen
9: Cort
9: KoreanDJ
9: Jman
9: Cactuar

Mango Juice (128 participants)
San Bernardino, California – March 21st
1: Mango ($717)
2: Zhu ($333)
3: SilentSpectre ($102)
4: Wobbles ($64)
5: Lucky ($38)
6: Forward ($25)
7: HugS
7: Taj
9: Pink Shinobi
9: Eggz
9: DEHF
9: HMW

POE2 (51 participants)
Evansville, Indiana – April 4th
1: Kels ($367)
2: Sliq ($183)
3: Khepri ($61)
4: Matt R
5: Viperboy
5: Chad
7: Darkrain
7: NES Noob

CGC @ SFSU VII (50 participants)
San Francisco, California – April 4th
1: Mango ($150)
2: SilentSpectre ($75)
3: Falcomist ($25)
4: Lucky
5: Tofu
5: Zhu
7: Jon Lee
7: HMW

Smashpocalypse VII (49 participants)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – April 18th
1: Mango ($220)
2: Jman ($110)
3: Vwins ($55)
4: Scar ($35)
5: Wife ($10)
5: DJ Nintendo ($10)
7: Cactuar
7: Bum

SoVa’s Melee Revival (48 participants)
Norfolk, Virginia – April 25th
1: Jman ($144)
2: Hazzard ($72)
3: LoZR ($24)
4: Reno
5: Doll
5: S-man
7: Cyrain
7: KP

Event 52-2 (75 participants)
Kansas City, Missouri – May 23rd-24th
1: Mango ($675)
2: Jman ($337)
3: Darkrain ($112)
4: Chexr
5: Kels
5: BigD
7: NES n00b
7: Cosmo

TourneyPlay 2 (55 participants)
Seattle, Washington – June 6th-7th
1. Mew2King ($413)
2. Silent Wolf ($206)
3. Diakonos ($124)
4. Kage ($82)
5. Gimpyfish
5. Eggz
7. Blunted Object
7. DEHF

DBR Presents: Genesis (290 participants)
Antioch, California – July 10th-12th
1: Mango ($2280)
2: Armada ($1425)
3: Hungrybox ($855)
4: Zhu ($570)
5: Mew2King ($228)
6: Scar ($171)
7: Darkrain ($114)
8: Hax ($57)
9: Pink Shinobi
9: Raistlin
9: Lambchops
9: DaShizWiz

HERB2 (65 participants)
Greensboro, North Carolina – July 25th-26th
1: Mew2King ($702)
2: Hungrybox ($234)
3: Jman ($117)
4: Dr. PeePee ($58)
5: ChuDat ($29)
5: Hax ($29)
7: Eggm
7: Swiftbass

SMYM 10 (124 participants)
Champaign, Illinois – August 1st
1: Mango ($744)
2: Mew2King ($372)
3: Jman ($124)
4: Kels ($20)
5: NES n00b
5: Darkrain
7: Chexr
7: Tink
9: Big R
9: Sliq
9: Scar
9: Drephen

GameUnicon: SNES (64 participants)
Marlborough, Massachusetts – August 21st-23rd
1: Mango ($800)
2: Hax ($500)
3: Mew2King ($300)
4: Swiftbass ($200)
5: Cort ($80)
5: Darc ($80)
7: Scar ($20)
7: GMoney ($20)

Tipped Off 5 (87 participants)
Duluth, Georgia – September 5th-6th
1: Hungrybox ($774)
2: Mew2King ($387)
3: Dr. PeePee ($129)
4: Colbol
5: Lambchops
5: NES n00b
7: Chaddd
7: Tope

LoLiS I (44 participants)
Ann Arbor, Michigan – September 19th
1: Mew2King ($170)
2: Kels ($102)
3: Dope ($51)
4: Tink ($17)
5: Vidjo
5: Shaeden
7: Mikey Lenetia
7: Bigy

ActiveGamers: Coast to Coast (60 participants)
Hawthorne, California – September 26th-27th
1: Mango ($1000)
2: HugS ($500)
3: Lucky ($250)
4: Zhu ($100)
5: Kira ($75)
5: Fly Amanita ($75)
7: Phil
7: Wobbles

Smashpocalypse VIII (64 participants)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – October 17th
1: Jman ($288)
2: Cactuar ($144)
3: Tope ($72)
4: HBK ($45)
5: Swiftbass ($10)
5: Tec0 ($10)
7: Cyrain
7: Scar

JAB 2 (44 participants)
West Lafayette, Indiana – November 7th
1: NES n00b ($264)
2: Matt R ($132)
3: Kels ($44)
4: ihavespaceballs
5: Tom R
5: Dekuschrub
7: Big R
7: Iggy

Pat’s House (111 participants)
San Diego, California – November 14th-15th
1: Mango ($932)
2: Zhu ($433)
3: SilentSpectre ($133)
4: Lucky ($84)
5: MacD ($42)
5: Lovage ($42)
7: Connor
7: Kira
9: Axe
9: DEHF
9: Light
9: Blunted Object

Revival of Melee II (159 participants)
Nanuet, New York – November 21st-22nd
1: Hungrybox ($795)
2: Dr. PeePee ($397)
3: Kage ($238)
4: Mango ($80)
5: Jman ($40)
5: Darc ($40)
7: Cactuar
7: Hax
9: RaynEX
9: Lucky
9: Tec0
9: Eggm

Saffron City 3 (42 participants)
Jersey City, New Jersey – December 5th
1: Hax ($188)
2: VaNz ($94)
3: Darc ($56)
4: HBK ($37)
5: th0rn
5: Eggm
7: Zoso
7: Scar

Winterfest (63 participants)
Kissimmee, Florida – December 18th-20th
1: Mango
2: Hungrybox
3: Mew2King
4: chaddd
5: Jman
5: DJ Nintendo
7: Queen DVS
7: Skrach

R³: Revival, Redemption, Rape (72 participants)
San Francisco, California – December 19th-20th
1: Lucky
2: SilentSpectre
3: Zhu
4: Eggz
5: DP
5: Shroomed
7: DEHF
7: Replicate

Important Notes

* Top 12 players are listed for tournaments with more than 100 participants.
* Top 8 players are listed for tournaments with fewer than 100 participants.
* More than $28,000 was given out in singles across these 25 tournaments.
* Attendance spiked in the spring, where three tourneys of 100+ participants took place in a span of just six weeks.
* Summer continued to be host to the year’s top events, with Genesis bringing in an all-time record 290 participants followed by SMYM10’s staggering 124 participants.
* Attendance jumped once again in November as both power coasts held regional events of over 100 participants.
* Collectively, these seven ’09 tournaments distributed $14,000 in singles prizes and close to $22,000 across singles, doubles, crews, and 64 tournaments.
* 9/25 tournaments listed here are also listed on AllisBrawl.
* The average attendance over 22 of these events is 90 players (excluding LoLiS I, JAB 2, and Saffron City 3).
* The Global Smasher Compendium has more than 1000 members.
* In 2009 alone, an estimated 300 Melee tournaments were listed through the Smashboards Tournament Listings or Regional Discussions.
* To little surprise, neither MLG nor EVO supported Melee in 2009. The game relied on spotty sponsorships from organizations such as ActiveGamers and GameUnicon for some guaranteed-prize regional events.

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